Monaco in 2004

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The year 2004 began in Monaco with renewed concern about the health of Prince Rainier III, who was admitted to a hospital cardiac unit in December 2003 and again on Jan. 2, 2004, suffering “general fatigue.” The 80-year-old prince was hospitalized again for several days in February and October.

Although Rainier’s son and heir, Prince Albert, remained unmarried, worries over Monaco’s future had been eased with the revised constitution of 2002, which included female siblings and their legitimate children in the line of succession. Therefore, in 2004 Princess Caroline’s elder son, 20-year-old Andrea Casiraghi, stood third in line to the throne, after Albert and Caroline. Meanwhile, Rainier’s youngest child, Princess Stephanie, was divorced from her husband of less than a year, Portuguese circus acrobat Adans Lopez Peres.

On May 4 Monaco signed a cooperative agreement with Andorra to combat money laundering. This agreement, the 15th such bilateral accord reached by Monaco, marked the principality’s commitment to international cooperation in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Twelve new stands opened in time for the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix Formula 1 auto race in late May. The rebuilt stands provided seating for 6,000 spectators, and a widened esplanade afforded new underground premises that would be used for offices, shops, and restaurants. The total area gained was 5,000 sq m (about 54,000 sq ft).